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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

Newman - I really enjoyed Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate. I never heard this before. It sounds like it was written for solo piano and vocal. Is that how the original was done?

Pianoweb - Congrats on your first posting to the piano bar! Victory in Jesus was well done. Keep the Gospel/blues coming!

Falmc - Wow, two camera angles and the key map. Unfortunately for all of us, the piano is arguably the least photogenic of all instruments. Personally, I think the "floating hands" thing is kind of creepy. But I really like how you've mixed it up with a full front view, then top, repeat. You get a lot more character of the player that way. Playing a solid rendition of Wherever You Go on top of it brought it all together. Nice.

Cgyan - Everything about the performance of No More Tears was spot on. The flow, pacing, dynamics. Just great to listen to.

Pianoweb - I used an old Yamaha P200 played through a Peavy tube guitar amp to get that sound on October's Lament. If I remember correctly, the P200 was a middle of the road EP of the first generation that actually had weighted keys. None of the sound emulations are very good except for the vibes which sound realistic to me. The speakers on the piano itself are pretty bad so you have to play it through something else if you want to record. A tube amp seemed to make just the right complement to the vibes sound.

Nailed it! Do you feel your playing changing yet with the trio? You did a good job of having your voicings not conflict with the bass player. That takes a little while when you are used to normally playing chord roots as a solo player. Keep 'em coming. This will be fun!

Falmc - Wow, two camera angles and the key map. Unfortunately for all of us, the piano is arguably the least photogenic of all instruments. Personally, I think the "floating hands" thing is kind of creepy. But I really like how you've mixed it up with a full front view, then top, repeat. You get a lot more character of the player that way. Playing a solid rendition of Wherever You Go on top of it brought it all together. Nice.

Yes i also think the floating hands look so ugly but a static position is worst than that, guitarrist do theirs nice poses, bass players same thing, so as a pianist you have to do some crappy poses to enchant your play style

Nailed it! Do you feel your playing changing yet with the trio? You did a good job of having your voicings not conflict with the bass player. That takes a little while when you are used to normally playing chord roots as a solo player. Keep 'em coming. This will be fun!

Thanks, Ken. Yes, having played only solo piano, there are many limitations to overcome when playing with others. My biggest achilles heel is making changes in time, so learning playing with others (virtual or not) is a huge step in the right direction. I just have to be very careful to not overdo it. My wrists/elbows are not yet ready for prime-time.

Mark and Seaside, thanks for the kind words using BIAB. As for the mic placement, I just put it in between the speakers and piano in hopes there's enough sound and a decent balance for the instruments.

JimF~ Glad you liked it!

Here is a faster version. I made two recordings, the previous one (in quotes above), then, the next day, this. Hope you like this one, too. Thanks again.

ladypayne - hey, that was great and your photo looks wonderful, the colors are amazing! It still impresses me how the 'beginners' on this forum can compose music and create something as engaging and detailed as your piece. Well done! Oh, and maybe like others, I kept pulling my headphones off thinking my smoke alarm battery was giving up!

amaruk - nice job, I'm listening to a lot of Yann Tierson at the moment so I particularly enjoyed that. You can definitely see the pleasure you get from playing it as you are completely relaxed and just let the music flow. Superb audio and video quality too!

mark - now I've definitely heard this before but I can't place where, maybe in past recitals. Good job, though, it's quite a charming little piece and you played it quite expressively and with passion.

kenjazz - well, if a description ever matched a piece of music then yours did it! I can almost taste the smokey atmosphere whilst listening. Jazz isn't really my thing but I can appreciate a good piece of music composition and that was certainly a creative piece which I enjoyed a lot as much for the mental images as for the music itself. Good job!

Inlanding - Glen!! How are you doing, buddy? It's great to be back again with friends and music. That's a nice touch with the drums and bass on the jazz improvs, it just further confirms to me you're a jazz superstar waiting to be discovered on the big stage :-D.

Greener - hey, Greener, that's some nice chops you got there! It sounded effortless under your fingers and just flowed beautifully. I've no idea, but is it from the Richard Gere movie from a few years back?

BillM - Bill, you know you're one of my main favourites in this community because of your generosity of time and comments to members new and old. And of course the music never fails to hit the spot and once again I'm left wanting more and have to hit replay again. Long may you entertain us!

Rickster - that is so cool! It must have been something really special to play with your kids on such a special day. You had me bopping!

Falmc - terrific job, very clean and purely played, I was sad it wasn't longer. Hope you'll record all of it soon

pianonewbThat was a great first submission!! It seems like you are having great fun letting the music just flow thru you. Thanks for sharing!

NewmanYour new recording is fantastic!! You play this very well and what a great singing voice you have!! Keep up the great work. Looking forward to hear more of your recordings here.

Seaside LeeThat is quite the piece you are "working" on….! Your performance is fantastic. I love how you you master the dynamics in it so well. Great job!!

InlandingTime travel back to the 40s…. Great!! It always sounds like great fun when you play with your "band'! You will have to teach us all how you pull these things off. It sounds amazing to me. Your performance is as good as always! I think I like the first (slow) version the best. Just my preference. Thanks for sharing Glenn!

Since I had so much fun putting together my latest video on my computer I decided to re-edit a recent video (my favorite Amélie piece) in a similar fashion:

Wow, great to see all the great great stuff happening in the bar this month. And see we are moving quickly in to round two and I already have some catching up to do ...

Originally Posted By: Rickster

Hope ya'll enjoy it as much as we did!

Indeed. Well done Rickster, you must be very proud. Good for you.

Falmc: I really like this tune. Yes, you did do a VERY clean version of it and it really makes the lovely harmonics of this piece stand out. Great job

Cgyan: This is really pretty piece. You have very nice touch. Great playing.

Mike: Glad to see you take the stage with "Victory in Jesus". Not a tune I was familiar with, but nice playing. Look forward to seeing/hearing more from you. Do they still really have dial-up?

Newman: I was all ready to hear your piece and then couldn't find the link. So, glad you reposted. You and Bill are really making me think more about this singing business. My only suggest is that your mix (perhaps just this recording) is a bit too strong on the accompaniment. You have a very nice voice. So, just suggesting more emphasis. It is otherwise a very great sound.

Seaside: Wow, impressive stuff. This is a really quality performance. I love the shift in dynamics rubato to rhythm to rubato. Likewise, I do a lot of this, as I like it too. Great job and thanks for sharing this.

Glen: Angel Eyes was sweet. This really swings and makes you sit up and take notice. It is a really great sound, Glen. One of your betters and a definite keep sake ... great job

Amaruk - Will get back to you a bit later. I've seen your post but not listened yet. But will soon.

So, still have more catching up to do. Plus, working on a round two surprise for ya's. Someone kindly asked if Autumn in NY was from a movie track. No idea. Very likely could have been, but I know nothing on the history of it ... sorry. My next though ... several movies.

Pianoweb - I used an old Yamaha P200 played through a Peavy tube guitar amp to get that sound on October's Lament. If I remember correctly, the P200 was a middle of the road EP of the first generation that actually had weighted keys. None of the sound emulations are very good except for the vibes which sound realistic to me. The speakers on the piano itself are pretty bad so you have to play it through something else if you want to record. A tube amp seemed to make just the right complement to the vibes sound.

I think the tube amp was definately the right choice. The sound is just right.

_________________________
Mike Casio Privia PX 120

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Autumn Leaves is one of the most well-known jazz standards, and certainly one of my favorites. The song is most often played as an up-tempo swing number. There are so many great versions that I could not even begin to name them all, or even to pick favorites.

But Autumn Leaves is not an up-tempo swing number for me. This wonderfully written song only reminds me only of the loss of my parents as a teenager. It reminds me of each of us sitting in that chair in the living room watching the autumn leaves coming down and feeling that deep sense of loss. The kids feeling the loss of the parents and the grandparents feeling the loss of their kids.

There are other songs that remind me of this time too, but Autumn Leaves gets to me like no other. So for this song I'm doing something a little bit different. I've got a snapshot montage of the very few pictures that I have of them provided by my sister. I am accompanying with an understated version of Autumn Leaves with string orchestra.

Seaside_lee - you have managed to wring every bit of emotion and tenderness from this wonderful song. I have seen My Fair Lady dozens of times and this is one of my favorites from the musical. Your rendition is outstanding.

Kenjazz - a poignant and touching tribute. I did a version of Autumn Leaves in the Piano Bar a few months ago and although my piano playing is not in the same league as yours, stylistically we have given this similar treatment.i also have heard this as an uptempo swinger, but your melancholy, pensive arrangement is perfect. Just a wonderful production. The Piano Bar is raising the bar this month.

Inlanding - I listened to these in reverse order (up-tempo first) and I must say although they are both way cool I prefer the slowed down version a little better (probably because I'm old and don't move that fast anymore).

You did a good job of keeping the band in the background and in a supporting role.

BillM, Glen, Newman - Thank you for the kind comments on Autumn Leaves!

Seaside Lee - really nice lyrical rendition of On The Street Where You Live! I've only done I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face (aka I Threw A Custard At Her Face in jazz circles) from My Fair Lady before. You emphasized the beautiful melody so well that this definitely has to go on the "learn it" list.

Amarak - Don't make me steal my son's high-end Mac! If you do any more of these stunning re-edits, I may need to become a felon.

Inlanding - The uptempo Angel Eyes is just so tasty. Man, you have really got the touch. That un-identifiable quality that is just - the touch. Keep expanding- intros and endings...

Greetings again, and see I have yet more catching up to do and will do so in short order.

Meanwhile, this is a tune I have been wanting to share. I came across this from 'Music From the Motion Picture "For The Boys" by Bette Midler.' I immediately wanted to learn it, plus one other track "P.S. I Love You", from the same CD. The later I was able to get a decent arrangement of, scored for me nearly straight away. But, not this one. So I left it at that for the time being.

Fast forward one year and I saw the movie "Leaving Las Vegas" for the first time. I loved the movie and I loved the soundtrack (Don Henley.) Then I was determined to learn this piece, which is apparently a very old standard. I had no idea of this. I found mostly junk scores for it, but came across a jazz tutorial of it (actually was beyond what I wanted) on YouTube, and was able to extract a scaled down arrangement of it.

This is still a work in progress, but hope you enjoy my interpretation of:

Newman, Bill, and Ken~Thank you so much for the kind comments. It's very encouraging to know you liked the tune depending on the tempo choice. It's hard to keep it the same from one tempo to the next.

Jeff~ Come Rain or Come Shine is wonderfully done, great arrangement you put together on the fly and even better playing. You have an excellent sense of time. I've heard Ella Fitzgerald sing it (my favorite version of this tune) and like you, she brings so much life to music.